The recent visit to Gombe State by the
wife of the President, Hajiya Aisha Buhari, has sparked a row between former
governor Danjuma Goje and incumbent Governor of the state, Ibrahim Hassan
Dankwambo.
Goje had accused Dankwambo of
betraying him since becoming governor in 2011.
Mrs. Buhari visited Gombe
State, last Friday, on a condolence visit to Goje who recently lost his wife,
the late Hajiya Yalwa Danjuma Goje.
Apparently, the condolence
visit had left a dust that is yet to settle as supporters of Governor Dankwambo
alleged that Sen. Goje has disrespected the office of the governor by rebuking
Dankwambo in public.
During the visit and in
his respond to the Hajia BUhari, Sen. Goje had veered from the topic of the
occasion to take a swipe at Governor Dankwambo alleging
the he betrayed his (Goje’s) family upon becoming the governor of the state.
Sen. Goje while expressing
gratitude to Mrs. Buhari for bringing Dankwambo to his residence stressed that
since becoming governor, Dankwambo had failed to visit his residence even while
the late Yalwa was sick.
According to Goje, “He used
to be part of this household. My wife was his godmother. For seven months
she was sick, he (Dankwambo) didn’t come. He only called after she passed on.
Since we inaugurated him from Pantami (Gombe Stadium), he didn’t visit this
house.
“I have had series of
misfortunes, ill-health with even a death recorded but he (Dankwambo) has
not seen it fit to identify with me and my family. He didn’t even called to
sympathise with us.
“I really appreciate
you, Your Excellency (Mrs. Buhari) for bringing him back to this house.
This used to be his home; he was a godson to my late wife, ” Goje said.
The apparent rebuke in
public glare, however, did not go down well with supporters of Governor Dankwambo
as they alleged that Sen. Goje was attacking the person of the governor before
the wife of the President merely to score cheap political gains.
Rising in defence of the
governor, an umbrella body for elders in the state, the Gombe State
Concerned Citizens, vehemently condemned what they termed ‘unwarranted attack
on the person of Governor Dankwambo and his wife by Sen. Danjuma Goje.’
At a press conference
held, on Monday, the group equally condemned the choice of venue and
timing on the alleged attack while commending Dankwambo “for the matured manner
he handled the situation”.
“First and foremost, we would
like to tender our unreserved apology to the wife of the President and her
husband, His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari for this unfortunate
embarrassment she encountered during her condolence visit to Gombe State, ” the
group said.
Spokesman of the group, Amb.
Abulmumini Abubakar, a retired Assistat Ins[ector General of Police, said it
has become necessary to refute “the tissues of lies dished out to the public by
Goje because there is every tendency for people to believe in such lies,”
Abubakar said.
Abubakar accused Sen.
Goje of choosing the moment of the visit of wife of the President to “castigate
and ridicule the governor in order to enhance their political ego.”
The group denied the claim by
Goje that his late wife facilitated for the emergence of Dankwambo as governor
in 2011.
“We find it distasteful to hear that
late Hajiya Yalwa approved Dankwambo’s candidature before he became governor in
2011.We all know how Governor Dankwambo fought gallantly for his primary and
going through all electoral processes to win in 2011,”the group said.
Abubakar equally described
Goje as a person who has betrayal running in his blood having allegedly
betrayed all those that assisted him and brought him to political limelight.
“We find it difficult to
explain the circumstances of this unwarranted attack because betrayal is a
hallmark of Goje’s stock in trade if we really what he did to his political
godfather and mentor, late Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim Hassan,” he said.
The group urged President
Muhammadu Buhari to shun what they described as ‘political clouts, mischief
makers, political job seekers and enemies of Dankwambo’s development strides’
who are hell bent on tarnishing his reputation by soiling the cordial
relationship existing between the Gombe State government and the Federal
Government.
A close aide to Sen. Goje,
who spoke to Daily Sun on condition of anonymity, however, said everything
the former governor said about Dankwambo was true.
“Late Yalwa was instrumental
to his becoming governor but he abandoned her. She was sick but he didn’t
even called to sympathize with the family, ” the aide said.
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